July 22, 2003 - Researchers for the Kirin Brewery have discovered that a bittering element in hops curbs the development of fat inside the body.

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A team led by Keiji Kondo, vice chief of Kirin Brewery Co.'s development section, reached the conclusion after feeding a group of mice with high-fat feed containing isohumulones, an important component of hops that creates the bitter taste, and another group with plain high-fat feed.

After six weeks, the group that was given the isohumulones-free feed grew 22% fatter than the other group.

Kondo, however, warned beer lovers against a beer-only diet. "You won't get this effect by drinking beer only. You may even end up putting too much stress on your liver so we advise consumers to not to drink too much," Kondo said.

The team found that the mice that were fed with feed containing isohumulones developed twice the amount of enzymes that transform fat compared to the other group. Kirin researchers believe isohumulones help the development of fat-dissolving enzymes.

The discovery was announced during a recent meeting of the Japanese Society of Nutrition and Food Science.